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Andria is one of the three capitals of the province of BAT (Barletta, Andria and Trani). It has about 100.000 inhabitants, 7 meters above sea level.

There are several stories about the origins of its name. Some reports that it derives from the name of its founder, the legendary hero Diomedes, who named it Andros. According to others the city was born through the evangelization by the apostles St. Peter and St. Andrew, taking its name from the latter, who was forced to live in Andria because of a serious illness. A third theory says that the name derives from the word “Antrim” (caves) where the population lived during the early middle Ages.

The coat of arms is represented by a rampant lion and an oak branch, testifying the presence of oak trees in the surrounding.
Local inhabitants are referred to as andriesi.

HISTORY
Different theories exist about the origins of Andria. In 915 it is mentioned as a "castle" ("household") depending from Trani; it acquired the status of city around 1046, when the Norman count Peter enlarged and fortified the settlements in the area (including also Barletta, Corato and Bisceglie). In the XI century the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte was founded.
In the XIII century was under Swabian rule and was the residence of King Frederick II, who built the famous Castel del Monte, on the ruins of the former Norman Benedictine Abbey. In honour of Frederick II, when he came back from the Sixth Crusade, was built “la porta di S. Andrea”.
In XIV century, under the Angevins, Andria was given as a dowry to Beatrice, daughter of Carlo II of Anjou, becoming seat of a Duchy. In 1350 it was besieged by German and Lombard mercenaries of the Hungarian army, and in 1370 by the troops of Queen Joan I of Naples. In 1431 the ruler of Andria Francesco II Del Balzo found the remains of Saint Richard of Andria, the current patron saint, and instituted the Fair of Andria (23-30 April). In 1487 the city was acquired by the Aragonese, the Duchy passing to the future King Frederick IV of Naples.
In 1503 in neutral territory between Andria and Corato, took place the famous Challenge of Barletta, a battle between the Italians led by Ettore Fieramosca and the French. After being conquered by the Spanish king Ferdinand the Catholic in 1504, Andria was assigned to the "Great Captain" Consalvo of Cordova and then to his grandson, Fernando Gonzalo II.
Later, in 1552, it was sold by the Spanish to Fabrizio Carafa, for the sum of 100,000 ducats. The successor was his son Antonio Carafa in 1554; his mother and his brother, Vincenzo Carafa, built in 1577 the Capuchin monastery. His successor, Fabrizio Carafa II, was responsible for the construction of the Benedictine monastery and the basilica of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, following the discovery of a miraculous icon in 1576. In the XVII century, the city remained under the dominion of the Carafa, in constant conflict with the bishop, whom the family shared the ownership of most lands. In 1656 an epidemic of...

plague tenth the population.
The Carafas ruled the city until 1799, when the French troops captured it after a long siege. In 1806 the Carafa heirs sold the Ducal Palace to the Spagnoletti Zeuli family. Andria, for its loyalty to Ferdinand IV, received the award of “royal city”. Under Napoleonic rule and the reign of Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat the feudal system was abolished, and several convents were suppressed. With the abolition of large estates and the confiscation of the Church property, the town saw to the formation of a land bourgeoisie, which developed specialized agricultural production.  The city expanded: there were built mansions for the emerging classes, two small local banks and offices of several political parties. During the fascist regime some lands were divided among the veterans of WWI. After the armistice of 1943 the city suffered devastation by the Germans, until the arrival of Allied troops. After the Second World War, in March 1946, a local firm refused to hire four veterans, thus provoking a peasant revolt, that kidnapped some landowners and erected barricades. At that time an economic crisis started forcing several residents to emigrate. From the fifties there was a gradual economic recovery.

MONUMENTS AND SIGHTS OF INTEREST
• The Old Town
• Castel del Monte
• Palazzo Comunale
• Watchtower
• Porta Castello (city gate)
• Palazzo Ceci Ginistrelli
• Palazzo Ducale
• Porta S. Andrea or Federico II Arch
• Vittorio Emanuele Square
• Confectionery Museum "Giovanni Mucci"
• Cathedral and its Crypt
• San Domenico’s Church
• Sant'Agostino’s Church
• San Nicola’s Church
• San Francesco’s Church and its Cloister
• Santa Maria dei Miracoli Sanctuary
• Santa Croce’s Church
• Santa Maria di Porta Santa’s Church
• Santa Maria Vetere’s Church